Category Archives: Debt
The 50/30/20 Budget Rule Is the Epitome of Aspirational Claptrap
Making a budget is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions. Tracking your spending and then deciding to stick to certain spending patterns can help you avoid impulse purchases paid for out of your own funds or on credit. It is possible to cancel some of your content subscriptions or to resolve to… Read More »
3 Practical Financial New Year’s Resolutions for 2024
Most New Year’s resolutions focus on improving your health or finances, and in both of these areas, it is easy to set unrealistic goals that leave you feeling physically, emotionally, and financially worse than you felt before the new year started. Sometimes it is best to start small. Think back on a New Year’s… Read More »
Top Personal Finance Goals for Folks Under 40 and How to Achieve Them on a Modest Income
In 2024, most personal finance advice from the era in which old people read blogs instead of physical newspapers sounds out of date. An increasing number of high schools offer classes in personal finance, and the premise that you should keep track of your spending and spend less than you earn still holds true,… Read More »
Who Is a Better Source of Startup Funds for a Business: Banks or Family?
It is a good idea to start the new year with gratitude. For example, if your New Year’s resolution involves making a budget where you save more money or put more money toward debt repayment, it means that your income is high enough that you can afford to reduce your spending. Likewise, if you… Read More »
Is It Really the End of Sleazy Behavior by Car Dealerships?
If the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has its way, then car dealerships will have to be honest with consumers and charge them a fair price for a car. In the summer of 2022, the FTC proposed a set of new regulations regarding advertising practices in the automotive industry and useless additional fees attached to… Read More »
How to Stop a Gym Membership From Wrecking Your Finances
At this time of year, it seems like everyone is signing up for a gym membership. Improving one’s physical fitness is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions. Gyms know this, so they advertise relentlessly around the holidays. Of course, it is hard to find the time to go to the gym and… Read More »
How to Get Out of Debt When You Are Already Frugal
The first step to paying off your debts is to have an income, and you can happily report that your job gives you a paycheck every month, or perhaps even more frequently than that. Of course, much of your income goes to recurring, emergency, or incidental expenses. Therefore, the next step to getting out… Read More »
Mistakes That Get High Income Employees Into Debt
You might not feel rich, but you are in a better financial position than a lot of other people. You know you are rich if you have achieved your weight loss goals because you could afford the foods and supplements required to stick to a restrictive diet, because your health insurance paid for your… Read More »
What Can You Not Pay for With a Credit Card?
You know you are old if you can remember a time when food trucks, kiosks, and neighborhood restaurants only accepted payment in cash. Today, these small businesses, as well as other low tech business ventures such as dry cleaners, laundromats, and car washes, often accept payment by card or Apple Pay. You know you… Read More »
Is Vehicle Depreciation Good or Bad?
You base most of your financial decisions on the purchase price of the item you are buying. If it is a major purchase that you must pay for in installments, then you also think about how much you will have to pay for each monthly installment. Most of the time, we don’t give much… Read More »